The present invention relates to a connector plug or jack for use in communication networks, including data transmission networks. The traditional copper wires in these networks have been challenged by fibre optics, which provide a very high transmission capacity; that is, the ability of conducting a very high number of bits per second. However, the copper wire system still has pronounced advantages, and it has been possible to develop copper wire cables so as to achieve a noticeable increase of the transmission capacity. A main problem has been the electrical capacitance between the wires in a bundle of wires, but very good results have been achieved by different measures such as a twisting of the wires.
In connection with the invention, it has been recognized that in these systems there is a bottle neck problem associated with the use of the connector elements, in which it is common practice, derived from already established standards, to arrange neat rows of terminals which are connected with corresponding rows of cable connector terminals through parallel conductors inside the connector element. Inevitably, there will be a certain capacitive coupling between these conductors, and this coupling will be stronger, the smaller the distance is between the conductors. It is a pronounced desire that the connector elements should be as small as possible, and this, of course, will accentuate the problem, because the required small dimensions will imply a small mutual distance between the internal leads of the single connector elements, and thus a relatively high capacitance between these leads.
However, while the capacitance between neighbouring conductors is relatively high, it may be undesirably low between non-neighbouring conductors. The standard already set for the dedicated use of the single terminals are not too lucky for the favouring of ideal conditions in the connector elements, and problems occur not only as far as capacitance is concerned, but also with respect to conductor inductance and mutual inductance, the former being associated with the width of the conductors and the latter with the coil effect of the pairs of associated conductors.